


Supernatural Section 123

by Arytra



Series: Section 123 [1]
Category: Sesame Street (TV)
Genre: Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Mostly Fluff, Multi, Pretty much all fluff, Sesame Street is a Safe Place, Slight mention of racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra
Summary: Sesame Street has always been a safe place.  It's looked after, there's magic protecting it, and that's why the Supernatural Affairs Agency of the United States Government is ordered to go have a look.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I can't properly explain how much credit goes to releasing-my-sanity for this story but it's a whole lot especially in the ideas department where I borrowed from them. So, thank you!

Penelope evened out her skirt as she stepped out onto the street from the car. The sun beamed brightly above and she swore to herself there were something off about the place before she stepped in by the air alone. A shadow overtaking the sun behind her told her that her partner had excited and was feeling the same as she did. It was a simple assignment as the magic in the area had been there for years but there was little talk about anything dangerous happening. Since the creation of the Supernatural Affairs Agency had been created in the wake of World War 2 and the United States' new knowledge of said supernatural, they were having to look into a myriad of places that had gone unnoticed for years, decades, or even centuries. As she glanced toward her partner, she saw the bored look on his face and forced a cheerful smile. “At least we aren't in Germany, Ron,” she offered.

“At least we'd be needed in Germany,” he gruffed. She forced herself from rolling her eyes in public. They were going to have to work together and, while the 1940s had been far more permissive of their view of women, it was the early 1950s now and that was a thing of the past. She was, frankly, lucky that her superiors let her keep the job regardless of her introductory mission involving werewolves. As it was, she let the other lead the way to allow for a look of obedience on the unknown street. She glanced over at the sign to see Sesame staring straight back at her and forced back a sigh as she was beginning to wonder if there was anything they were going to have to document here at all other than everything feeling slightly off.

She glanced around and saw two very large yellow birds looking back at her as well as a far smaller, yet still extremely large bird peering over the edge of a large nest and waving. Neither of the enormous birds paid too close of attention to the the duo, but tended to the nest itself. Penelope waved back at the baby bird who bounced in its nest with excitement and gave a smile. Other than an odd green creature within a trash can, the rest of the residents seemed quite friendly enough with visitors and Penelope was more than a little curious as how to categorize the experience.

“Hello,” a voice rang out below her. She looked down to see a purple, what she was nearly certain was a vampire, person looking back at her. His cape reminded her of the Dracula films, a creature she was nearly certain didn't actually exist, but there was nothing menacing about him. “I am the Count von Count. Welcome to Sesame Street.”

“Please to meet you,” Penelope said quickly. “I'm Penelope Carson and this is my partner, Ronald Richards.”

The Count looked them over without making her feel uncomfortable, but as if he was checking on something. “Please,” he said after a minute with a more discerning eye than Penelope thought was capable in this place. “Join me in Hooper's Store.”

Both of them shrugged, but didn't protest, heading into the store which immediately was closed after. Penelope glanced at Ron who was already on edge, but not reaching for his weapon like she would have thought. Then again, she didn't feel the need to either regardless of the possibly dangerous turn this day had taken. It just didn't feel like a threat. The Count calmly looked at three other decidedly human men standing around and let them take over after introducing them as Mr. Hooper, Mr. Macintosh, and Willy. Ron took point to Penelope's annoyance. “What's going on?” He demanded.

“We could ask you the same question,” Mr. Hooper answered. Penelope quickly intervened.

“What he means is,” she said, giving her partner a look. “We're part of an organization that searches out and looks into supernatural areas. This street and only this street pinged on our radar and we want to know the situation of the area and why it's surrounded in magic.”

The other three glanced over at the Count who easily spoke up again. “The magic is old,” he said. “I brought it with me when I came here.” 

“How long ago was that?” Ron demanded. Penelope forced through her irritation with him to keep herself from banging her head against the table. The three men each waited expectantly with varying looks of mild irritation to amusement on their faces.

“One, one century ago. Two, two centuries ago. Three, three centuries ago. Four, four centuries ago! Ha-ha-ha,” he exclaimed.

“Was that thunder and lightening?” Penelope asked, looking around in confusion. The three men nodded, but acted like this was nothing out of the ordinary so she settled down for the moment. She collected herself, having figured out that the name was a cute pun on words. “So, you created it for what purpose?”

“As a safe area,” Mr. Macintosh answered. “For the children here.”

“And for us,” Mr. Hooper agreed, though he was still watching them like a hawk.

“So, you control it,” Penelope stated. They nodded their agreement. “And everything is under control here.”

“We help the Count to work it,” Willy answered. She nodded her agreement this time.

“So, you four...” she started.

“Five,” Mr. Macintosh corrected. “Oscar is also connected.”

“Oscar?” She asked. “I'm going to need a description for my report.”

“He's a Grouch,” Mr. Hooper answered. She tried to find a polite way of saying that was the pot calling the kettle black when he met her eyes. “Capital G.”

“I see,” she said, though she really didn't. Ron wasn't helping at all, glaring at the lot of them but she'd seen enough. “I may not completely understand what's going on, but I do understand that you seem to have things under control and have for a while now. I'll make the report and check in, but just keep doing what you've been doing.”

The hard look in Mr. Hooper's eyes softened slightly and he nodded back to her. She grabbed her partner, waved to several children, monsters, and the baby bird, and with that, they were done.

***

It wasn't too many years after that she was sent back again, this time with a new partner who wasn't any better in her eyes than Ron had been over the situation. Unlike before, however, the area didn't seem to want him to enter which surprised them both. She reassured him that she'd handle it from here and made a mental note about it. While there were no longer any large birds around, there still was the giant nest and the bird sleeping in it was larger though still no where near the size of the others. She smiled softly to herself. She still jumped at Oscar's scram though only slightly and politely answered the greetings of the others. This time, she headed straight for Hooper's Store and wasn't surprised at all that they were waiting for her. This time, however, there were five new editions to the bunch waiting. She turned her attention to the one in charge. “Mr. Hooper,” she said warmly.

“Agent Carson,” he answered coolly. She glanced over at the newcomers.

“I take it they were added in?” She asked, looking them over. Similar to the count, two of them were far shorter with features that were a bit off. Both of them seemed nice enough, if the shorter of the two was a bit enthusiastic with his grin. The three new humans were the next on her list of inquiry and with them, it didn't take her long to figure out why Sesame Street hadn't let her partner in. She was guessing that the safe space mentioned wouldn't let someone in anyone who looked down on other races. The force field's rules were fine with her as she needed a break from hearing his crass remarks anyway. The couple looked welcoming as did their companion.

“They were,” Mr. Hooper answered, daring her to say anything. She thought it was a bit ridiculous of him to do so when they held up a barrier that protected against that sort of thing, but she didn't say so. She was surprised when she realized that by all three being involved, that included a woman on board as well. She headed over to her specifically first.

“Penelope Carson,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Susan Robinson,” the other answered, shaking her hand with a warm smile. “This is my husband, Gordon. And our friend, Bob. And these two are Bert and Ernie.”

“Pleasure to meet all of you,” she said, shaking hands. “I can just add this to your file and...”

Mr. Hooper looked at her. “Let me get you some lunch,” he said, motioning to one of the tables. She looked surprised but sat down. Both Willy and Mr. Macintosh bid her a good morning before slipping out while Susan, Gordon, Bob, Bert, and Ernie sat down near her. She slowly found herself completely relaxing as the conversation stayed at a welcoming level that she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt. She learned about Gordon and Susan's recent marriage and how Susan had met Bob. She learned how Ernie and Bert had been friends for what seemed like forever. The Count didn't give any background to himself, but she found herself counting alongside him. Eventually, she did have to leave, paying Mr. Hooper and seeing a small smile on his face. As she was out the door, she heard the Count behind her. 

“One, one agent we can trust, ha ha ha!” The thunder and lightening didn't even phase her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Hooper doesn't die. Because it's my story and he lives forever. The end. THE. END. Enjoy!

“No,” Penelope said as she flipped through the pages of the documents she needed to look at. “No more agents right now. The last two we sent are just bound to make them nervous.”

“You don't have a say in it, Penelope,” her supervisor told her. “If they can't be controlled...”

“They don't need to be controlled,” she snapped. “They have everything under control. And so do I.”

“They tell me you're fraternizing,” he said. She gave him a look back.

“We call it making friends there,” she said. “And maybe you should visit so that Gordon can teach you some new words like respect.”

The citation in her file was worth it considering that his bosses agreed with her and she was named the lead agent for Sesame Street.

***

“It's a giant bird!”

Penelope looked up from her desk at the other agent before looking at the file and smiling. “Oh. Big Bird.”

“Big Bird?” The other asked. “Are you serious?”

“Of course I'm serious,” she answered. “He's fine. He's adopted by everyone there. He spent a week a few years back following poor Gordon around and trying to copy what he did. Gordon was patient about it but I thought Mr. Hooper was going to tear his hair out when Big Bird would repeat what Gordon ordered and then be upset it wasn't a milkshake. I caught Bob laughing about it with Susan.”

“Why do you call the others by their first names but not Mr. Hooper?” He asked.

“Because he's Mr. Hooper,” she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. “Big Bird is six now. He's fine.”

“Wasn't he six a year ago?”

“He's six.”

***

“You arrested Cookie Monster?!” Penelope demanded. This was why she kept going through agents considering that none of them had thought to talk to the police officer standing in front of her. She couldn't imagine how on earth the officer managed to get around the barrier. “How?!”

“He was stealing cookies!” The officer exclaimed and Penelope sighed. Of course. The “trying to do the right thing” escape clause. She hated that clause. She rubbed her forehead.

“He's the Cookie Monster on Sesame Street,” she said. “They all know better than to leave cookies where he can find them.”

“He ate my cookies,” the officer tried again and she didn't bother to not roll her eyes this time.

“Look, just make the phone call before you do this again so I don't get panicked calls from Bob in the middle of the night and have to come out here to get you to release him,” she said sternly. “Call to me first, then make an arrest.”

“What if it's something worse?” He asked. She looked him straight in the eye.

“It won't be,” she said. “Cookie! Come on, let's get you home.”

“Me just wanted chocolatey chip cookie, Penelope,” he informed her.

“We'll grab some on the way home.”

***

Once she met Maria and Linda, she added 'learn Spanish and sign language' to her list of things to do. While closer in age to Susan, she did enjoy talking with the two younger women and it would have been a lot easier if she didn't need a translator between Linda and her. Friends should be able to talk to each other. She also added the new adults to the list of Big Bird's guardians.

***

She wrapped her arms around the weeping agent. Sure, he wasn't part of her department, but she understood when someone just needed a hug. “I can't do it, Agent Carson. I tried. I don't know who belongs to which family and the paperwork they sent in is confusing so they asked me to go down there and...”

“Travis,” she said gently. “Mr. Fields.”

He looked up at her and she gave him a soft smile. “I think I might know someone who can help with this.”

Two days later, Travis Fields was officially set up to oversee Sesame Street in terms of the Census Bureau. He was thrilled as it meant that he just had to file things correctly when they came in. Considering that everything had to be filled out in triplicate, he always knew when it was done when the thunder and lightening came the third time.

***

She was a skilled agent with years of experience. She could handle this. It was an easy question and she knew how to answer things gently. “So, why aren't you aging?” Or she could manage to sound like Big Bird. That was another option.

Fortunately, Gordon just laughed and took over the quick explanation that none of the Street Protectors aged. “We just stop at a certain point,” he said. “It slows down first. You can see that with Maria, Luis, Linda, and David. Then we just don't go any further.”

“Do you know why?” She asked.

“No,” he answered. “But we like it.”

“Okay,” she said as she shrugged. “Let me know if you end up with other side effects that I need to worry about.”

“We will, Penelope.”

***

“All agents! I need you on stand-by! Residential members of Section 123 are going to Hawaii,” she called out. “This is not a drill! I need all of my agents ready to go in case of possible issues!”

“Agent Carson? What do we need to worry about?” One of the agents asked.

“We just need to be concerned with reassuring people later that there is nothing to worry about. Sometimes, people can't handle what they've never seen before,” she answered. “We need to insist that Big Bird and Oscar are completely safe. Also that Snuffleupaguses are probably safe.”

“I thought the Protectors told you he wasn't real,” one of the agents snarked. She shrugged.

“Big Bird says he's real,” she answered. “So, I'm still looking into it. For now, we consider it a possibility and act accordingly. Let's go, people!”

***

“For the last time! Do not try to do the job yourself!” Travis said, looking at his underling with a sense of pity. “You'll end up eating your own briefcase out of frustration.”

“You can't keep letting a vampire do it!” The other stated and Travis rolled his eyes.

“I'm not sure that's what the Count is, but I do know that he has this handled and his track record is spotless. Now, repeat after me: I will not try to bring outside order to Sesame Street. Sesame Street has its own rules. Plus Agent Carson will kill me and my favorite boss if I try again.”

“I'm not repeating that.”

“If you don't, I'll tell Agent Carson.”

“...I will not try to bring order to...”

***

Travis watched from the doorway as Penelope charged in through the door, staring down those at their desks. “Explain to me,” she began, her voice cold. “How we mishandled a case where the child in question was already legally adopted.”

“He's a bird, not a child,” one of the agents protested.

“Well, that agent's gone,” one of her more competent agents muttered as another snickered. Penelope gave her a look, but the agent just shrugged back. Well, she had found her volunteers.

“Kathy Hartford! Donovan Hugh! Find that bird!” She demanded. Both were up with little protest and out the door. She whirled on the one that had protested. “Office. Now.”

Just because she didn't want her to say that Penelope was going to reassign the agent, didn't mean that Kathy was wrong.

***

“They found him?” Travis asked, heading into her office and sitting across from her. She nodded. “I have no idea why Miss Finch got involved. I know the paperwork was immaculate.”

“It was,” she reassured him. “The Count did a masterful job. We're still trying to figure out what happened. But Mr. Hooper says that they brought him home with no injuries. And Kathy and Donovan are looking into things closer so that we can make sure it does not happen again.”

“Good,” he said and then looked at her in amusement. “Kathy said you fired an agent.” 

“They're reassigned. Big Bird is a bird, but he's also a child. If they can't understand that, they can't be in my section,” she answered. He nodded. “I think I need a break. Would you like to join me?”

“Sure,” he said and grinned at her. “But, can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?”


	3. Chapter 3

She had no idea why only three of them were marrying, but she wasn't going to question it. At first, she had thought that her instincts about the six had been wrong and that only three of them were really together, but it didn't take her long to realize that she'd been right the first time. She'd most likely ask them later, but this wasn't the appropriate time. She'd forgone her agent attire for the first time since she'd arrived on Sesame Street for a pleasant dress and tied her hair up. Travis had already arrived a couple hours before to help decorate while she'd had to argue the importance of the trip with her supervisors of why it was necessary for relations for her and two of her agents to come with. As it was, she was wondering why she'd chosen to bring them considering they were all over the place. She met Susan's eye in understanding before corralling the two while Susan and Gordon's young son giggled at the sight.

She'd contacted Gordon over the years to ask for help with her agents, the ones that she actually liked anyway, and had tried to implement it. “Does it get easier?” She asked Susan softly.

“Would you have it any other way?” The other woman countered. Penelope sighed but smiled and headed over to sit next to Gina and Big Bird. She'd offered to help keep an eye on the bird so that Gina could join her friends at the altar, but a slightly embarrassed look told Penelope what she already knew: David, Luis, and Maria may be getting married, but there was a good reason why Bob, Linda, and Olivia were standing with them. Mr. Hooper had taken his seat next to Mr. Macintosh and Willy while Gordon and Susan sat further up. Travis slipped in next to her, followed by Kathy and Donovan. She was only slightly surprised to see Oscar and Grungetta had dressed for the occasion and that the Count was silently watching. Bert and Ernie were talking about something, Ernie laughing to whatever was causing the look of dismay on Bert's face. She kept an eye on Cookie Monster though she doubted he'd ruin the day by devouring the cake when no one was looking. Snuffy looked on with interest while most of the younger residents were involved in the wedding itself.

Travis leaned in. “When I tell the Count to do the paperwork this year, do I mark all six down as married or do you think I should only label three?”

“All six,” she whispered back. “You know it, I know it, they know it. And it will be easier for me later.”

He nodded. “What are you thinking?”

She was quiet for a minute. “That when I first came here, I wasn't expecting to be at three of the Protectors' wedding. Or that they even existed. Or the amounts of paperwork and arguing I would have to do to make sure that the Street wasn't bothered. We have it under control, Travis.”

He nodded. “It just took a couple decades,” he joked. “Kathy and Donovan were arguing over who gets to vacation here next year.”

She sighed. “Do I need to intervene?”

“Gordon took care of it,” he reassured her. “He said you needed the vacation more than they did.”

She just laughed. “I probably do,” she agreed and turned her attention to the priest beginning the ceremony. Maria looked beautiful in her dress while Luis and David both looked so proud to be standing up there with her. Bob and Linda were sharing loving glances while Olivia halfway leaned into David. Penelope just leaned back against her chair, smiling to herself. She may only visit and act as a representative while she was there, but here at Sesame Street, she was home.


End file.
